Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility

This development is incompatible and inappropriate with the site that is proposed for the following reasons:

The proposed development is too close to existing residential development.

The proposed building is too large and not in keeping with the surrounding development and area.

Existing roads are not adequate for the number of heavy trucks that will be entering and leaving the site. The proposed new entry road will not address the overall concerns.

Increased traffic will impact the amenity of local residents.

Potential pollution of local waterways.

Potential odour emanating from processing plant and negatively impacting residents in the area.

Potential noise emanating from the processing plant and negatively impacting residents in the area.

I object to the proposed development in Moss Vale. I believe that the roads that will make up the network required for access were never designed to support the 24/7 access to the site by heavy vehicles. I believe that the site is located too close to current residential areas. I also believe current residents near the area would have never planned to have the constant noise of heavy industrial traffic to encroach upon their lives.

The current infrastructure of the Southern Highlands is already under significant stress with significant population growth and housing development. The roads and road networks are in need of attention. It doesn't matter which direction the industrial traffic for this site comes from, it will have a significant impact on the community and the environment. Added to this, at a time when we are looking at alternative approaches to energy, a multitude of heavy vehicles coming in and out of the Highlands is not going to help our air quality or the environment in general.

The proposed site appears to be within the town boundary I would expect that developments of this size should be far removed from the general locality. If the site is to be built so close to the town of Moss Vale I have serious reservations about the effect of any and all emissions from the site and the effect that this will have on the general populations and the environment.

My understanding was that there area concerned was classified originally as "light-industrial". Nothing that I have heard, or read makes me believe that this is anything of the sort. I believe that the end product will be an unsightly mess that will have a significant impact on the local residents and the general environment.

The Southern Highlands have always been a very popular tourist spot. More so in recent years as Covid has restricted movement of tourists particularly from the Sydney region. The proposed increase of heavy industrial traffic, the noise, and the site itself are not going to help to maintain the popularity of the region. Many former tourist destinations in NSW have been marred by the same issue.

I have lived in the region for a significant part of my life and have witnessed the continued land grab by developers that appear to have no restrictions on what they can do. I am hoping that someone will step in and just this once, put a stop to this.

It is my considered opinion that this is a totally inappropriate development for this site. This site is actually within the town boundaries of Moss Vale and it is important to note that there are 2 schools and 1 kindergarten that will be severely impacted by the 19 metre long heavy vehicle trucks that will be hauling plastic waste and recycled matter to and from the facility from 7.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. 7 days a week. The "guesstimation" is that there will be 80 to 100 movements per day, not including the extra 280 movements of light vehicles on local roads. How will this matter be secured and who will be monitoring this? Until a new access road is constructed the only route will be via Lytton and Beaconsfield Roads. There is no detail of the required construction for the proposed access road from Lackey Road. Some land would need to be acquired from the Garvan Institute for construction of this access road. How will this development impact on the Garvan Institute's sensitive operations? The bulk and scale of this building is unacceptable. It is a 6 hectare complex and will be over 5 storeys (18 metres) in height. There are no detailed plans, architectural drawings and diagrams of the factory complexs, only basic concept plans. There is no reference of scale on any concept plan. Wingecarribee Shire Council and other community groups have requested that a Social Impact Assessment be prepared, The applicant has NOT undertaken such an assessment. Consequently the adverse social impact on the community's way of life, health and wellbeing, access to and use of infrastructure, services and facilities and their general amenity have been totally disregarded. Who is the owner of this? Do the Foreign Investment Review Board need to be advised of this development? Is the owner an Australian citizen? In conclusion it is fair to
say that there is a need for such a facility. The closest resident is only 150 metres from this facility. Australia is a large country and there are surely other areas remote from residential zones that would be more suitable for a facility of this type. There are many unanswered questions.

Please see attachment.

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I consider the Plasrefine project is in the wrong location.
It will be within the Moss Vale town boundary. It will be within 150-200m from existing homes. The site has two incompatible zones viz Conservation (C4) and 7.7ha of General Industrial. The existing town roads, Beaconsfield Rd, Lytton Rd, Parkes Rd are not suitable for heavy vehicles either for the project construction and operational purposes. There is no detail ( including ownership and construction design ) of the proposed access road from Lackey Road. This road is essential for any construction and operational purposes to remove vehicle movement from local roads mentioned above.
Other issues are:-
Noise- 24 hr operation, 7 days per week.
Water and Air Quality.
THIS PROJECT SHOULD BE LOCATED DIRECTLY OFF AND ADJACENT TO A MAIN ROAD SUCH AS THE HUME HIGHWAY SO THAT OPERATIONAL AND CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES DO NOT NEED TO TRAVERSE LOCAL ROADS.

Plasrefine Pty Ltd is a company registered in Australia, but with 100 percent Chinese ownership, which is a concern, in these times especially.
And though the concept of a plastics recycling plant is to be encouraged, it should be sited a very considerable distance from areas of human habitation or importance, due to the many possible negative health impacts upon water and air quality from microplastics, the invalid imposition of hugely increased road traffic from delivery trucks, and the potential dangers associated with fire explosions within the plant building. If that means additional cost to create say a water supply, via pipeline, then that should be factored into the project.
In the case of the proposed Plasrefine plant, this site within the Moss Vale Light Industrial Area is about 200m from residential housing, a school and daycare centre. It also would border a riparian zone, and potentially endanger not only local drinking water but also that of the Sydney Water Catchment.

I oppose the proposed Plasrefine development in Moss Vale on a number of grounds. The proposed site of the factory is too close to both residential properties and to the township of Moss Vale which would have a particularly detrimental effect on air quality and also the visual aesthetic of the area. The potential for effects on local waterways from a site so close to the Wingecarribee River is also significant. The development will also result in a significant increase in traffic, particularly heavy traffic, on roads that already struggle to cope with the existing volume of traffic. This would also result in a significant increase in noise from both increased traffic and from the factory operation. The increased traffic, noise, air pollution and the negative aesthetic impact of this development would also have significantly reduce the appeal of the area to tourists, currently a major contributor to the economy of the area. Therefore, due to the negative affects on residents, the environment, the aesthetics of the area and on tourism, I strongly oppose this development.

I would like to express my views why I strongly object to the planned development proposal for the Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility.

The site will directly impact myself and family for many reasons.

Firstly the health concerns the proposed site will create such as water and air quality as well as the unknown health risks the toxic fumes the site will create. This will not only effect my families health but also the health of many children as the site is closely located to a daycare centre and Primary School.

The safety of our children and others on the road, is of concern as many large haulage trucks and vehicles will be using these roads to access the site. This traffic will pass directly by our front door and the daycare centre and school. These roads are not equipped for this amount of traffic. Our will put the safety of our children at huge risk.

The site will also be a visual eye sore. With potential to be viewed from our property.
This will clearly impact the aesthetic’s of our property and surrounding environment. This will impact the value of our property.
The potential site will also effect natural wildlife and pasture lands.

If this site is approved it will have serious impacts on our family living in such proximity as well as the whole Moss Vale community.
I strongly oppose the site for this development.
It is clearly the wrong site.

Bridget Alves

It’s unsafe, the owner hasn’t got any credentials about the project; the pollution could be heavy, the noise and traffic will be unbearable. The site is in Sydney drinking water catchment area and water contamination is a worrying aspect.

I would like to submit my objection to this development. I agree that there is need for a plastics recycling facility in Eastern Australia, but this is absolutely the wrong site. It is located just 2.17kms from the town centre. Close to residential property’s and schools.
I also draw your attention that the proposed site has no road access and is extremely close a riparian waterway that flows directly into the Wingecarribee river. The mere size of this development will have a huge environmental impact on the community.
It will be operating 24 hrs. Trucks will be coming from Canberra, Sydney and Wollongong. Truck movement will be 100 per day. The roads are not built to withstand heavy industrial trucks. Moss Vale already has a problem with traffic and road conditions this will exacerbate the problem.
The emissions from the processing is an environmental hazard. It is know globally that there is by product of plastic dust and chemicals which is a health hazard. Where do they propose to dump the waste product such as sludge from the washing process.
The size of the development is another issue. A building covering 6 hectares and 18 metre high. What an environment impact on the residents and the landscape
This is the Southern Highlands. This development will have a negative impact on health and well being of our community and tourism.

We live with our two young children (four and two years old) approximately 2 km from the site. We are deeply concerned by the health risks such a mammoth plant poses to the welfare of our kids and everyone else in the area.
Studies have shown that respiratory diseases, skin rashes, potential cancers etc are distinct dangers to people living near these plants.
Of particular concern to us is the toxic airborne compounds released by the plastic refining process.
Our four-year-old was born with a massive lung injury and we cannot have him (or anyone else) breathing in airborne toxins that such a factory will emit.
There are also two schools and a day-care centre very near the proposed site.
We cannot risk the health of locals and their families just so a corporation can rake in some profits.

Moss Vale is the fastest growing region in the Wingecarribee shire. Many families and people from Sydney are moving to Moss Vale in unprecedented numbers, especially in the wake of Covid. With population and development booming, it makes no sense to build a massive plastic recycling plant just a five-minute drive from the main street (Argyle).
This is the wrong site in the wrong town.

We live on Berrima Road. This is, already, a very busy road with a huge number of trucks and heavy vehicles using it.
To deliver their quota of materials, Plasrefine estimate 160-200 heavy vehicle movements and 240 light vehicle movements PER DAY!
The noise and traffic on Berrima Road and other, already, congested roads will be unbearable.

The background and business practices of those behind Plasrefine are highly questionable.
Plarefine was only recently registered in Australia (for the express purposes of building this plant.)
It is owned and capitalised by Chinese interests. They have no interest in serving and collaborating with the local community.
The owners of the company have a history of environmental breaches on their resume.
The community engagement on the project has been pitiful. Many of our neighbours have no idea the proposal even exists. Most don't even know about this objection forum! It has been left up to conscientious, concerned locals to educate the community about the project and draw their attention to it.
It has been extremely difficult to have any conversations with Plasrefine. For such a huge project that will impact so many locals, there has been a disturbing lack of transparency throughout the entire process.
We are not remotely convinced that proper due diligence and environmental impact work has been done on the project.
Thus, it is very hard to argue that the building of this plant will contribute in any meaningful way to the local economy or residents.

We beg you to consider the welfare and health of Southern Highlands communities who will be impacted by this plant.
There are just too many potential health risks and massive disruptions to our region to allow a factory of this scale and operational methods to proceed.
It is the wrong site in the wrong town.

I want to register my opposition to the proposed Plasrefine development in Moss Vale. I live less than two kilometers from the proposed site and am horrified at how inappropriate this development would be for our community. The beauty and tranquility of this pastoral area would be totally destroyed if Plasrefine is allowed to go ahead. The increasing traffic within several kilometers of the proposed site would overwhelm Moss Vale and damage the road infrastructure. The impact on the local natural and social environment would be disastrous if the Plasrefine development is approved. There must be far more appropriate locations for this development to take place without such horrendous impact on a local community. I appeal to the NSW Government Planning Group to do the right thing for the citizens of Moss Vale and the Southern Highlands and deny this development application.

I am making this submission on behalf of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, parent company of the Australia BioResources Pty Ltd located adjacent to the development site. The submission is attached.

I strongly object to this proposal for a number of reasons as outlined in the attached written submission.

I object to the Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility , Project ID SSD-9409987. The Owner of "Plasrefine" is planning to build a huge plastics recycling plant near residential land using existing agricultural land. The factory is proposed to be located within 200m from residential homes off Beaconsfield Road Moss Vale. Hence this Site has 2 incompatible zones, Conservation (C4) and 7.7ha of General Industrial (IN1). Importantly the Owner and Operator of Plasrefine is from China, where it is well known that the plastics factory industry in China creates toxic visible fumes, concentrated with poisonous chemicals, dangerous to human health and the environment in this residential and rural area. The Chinese "recycling" factories are well documented in producing plastic waste which clogs up nearby rivers causing more pollution, in this case the Category 2 riparian waterway that flows directly into the Wingecarribee River. In fact Plasrefine is proposing to pump 16,300L of contaminated water a day into the local Moss Vale sewage system. The old technology and recycling techniques proposed for use by Plasrefine will cause more pollution and toxic fumes in the long term. Wouldn't it make more sense to work with the Australian Owned CSIRO and integrate their cutting-edge compostable bioplastic science solutions, helping them extend the advantage of the $50M investment for their CSIRO’s Ending Plastic Waste Mission, rather than allow old cheap toxic technologies used in Chinese Factories. Lastly in this proposal there are no detailed plans, architectural drawings and diagrams of the factory complexes, only basic concept plans for the 38,638 square metres of buildings, a 6ha complex over 5 storeys (18 m) in height proposal. This is a poor proposal for a factory proposing to use old technology that will cause more toxic fumes and pollution and make money for the owner.

This facility is wrong on many levels:
Height/bulk being excessive site coverage, lack of road infrastructure from the highway to cope with at least 40x19m/20 tonne trucks per day to receive waste, which does not include the number required to remove sludge to Lucas Heights and to transport manufactured furniture from the recycled waste. There is currently no access onto the site other than through neighbouring long established residential areas and no consent given by the three neighbouring properties to run a further extension of 900m length to Braddon Road. The project will require high water use and their proposed roof rainwater harvesting cannot be guaranteed to provide required water. There are also potential water catchment pollution issues including straining the local sewage system. Foul odours are likely to be blown by the prevailing westerlies into the town and its neighbouring tourist destinations which comprise a major industry of the area. Finally, the town has not as yet developed its Master Plan for the Southern Highlands Innovation Park where the site lies which means that it should be impossible to approve the proponent's application at this time.

Due to the risks to our local environment, health of myself and all of the local citizens I strongly object to this Development in my home town of Moss Vale.
The risks of toxic waste and toxins produced into the air we breathe from this type of facility which we suffer from westerly winds would mean this would blow right over our township, farmland etc.
This would be a major concern for the welfare and health of all wildlife, farm animals and citizens residing in this local area.
I strongly object to this development